Perspectives on the beautiful game of soccer; fueled by enormous amounts of coffee

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Jozy

In 2005, Josmer Altidore was down in Peru with the U17 national team for the World Cup. He was the youngest player to make the American roster. I remember watching Jozy and Dan Kelly play ping-pong at the hotel more than I saw Jozy play on the field, though he did well in his limited time in games.

During the 2007 CONCACAF qualifying for the U20 World Cup, Jozy was again the youngest on the U.S. roster, but it's hard for anyone to notice. I mean, the guy's well over six feet, so it's easy to forget he can't even vote yet.

Still, there's a lot expected of him this year, both with the Red Bulls and the U20 team. Number 17 isn't worried much, though, which is probably the best way to deal with the pressure.